The Unwanted Guest
by Cerenbus.Snape.Malfoy
Summary: Due to increasing numbers at Whammy's, L is forced to watch over Near, who seems set on hurting himself and getting into trouble. Will L go insane trying to keep up with Near's antics? L Lawliet, Near Nathan Rivers Nate. Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort.


**Chapter one**

"I'm sorry, but keeping him at Whammy's would be detrimental to him."

"Surely there's someone else he can stay with, Watari."

"I'm afraid not, my boy. Good luck to you."

I sighed, setting down the phone I had previously been clutching. I always held things delicately. The world was a delicate place. Things shattered too easily. Lives were taken at the drop of a hat, hearts were broken at another's words and dreams were crushed on a whim. Who was I to add to that by refusing to allow the boy to stay with me?

After contemplating the matter for a good long while, I realized I had once again gone back to chewing on my thumb, a habit I had unintentionally carried over from childhood. It took me only two seconds to notice that I was no longer alone.

"Watari, you arrived sooner than I anticipated." I greeted quietly, eyes roaming to the small child in Watari's arms.

Watari, knowing that I must have gone into one of my meditative states as I was prone to do when in deep thought, didn't feel the need to mention that an hour had passed since we had spoken over the phone.

"Is he sleeping?" I asked, indicating the child who clung to Watari, face still hidden.

"No, he's just being shy." Watari grumbled, setting the child down, despite his obvious desire to stay in Watari's arms.

Curious, I stood and slouched my way over to the child, crouching down in front of him.

He was tiny, and everything about him was pure white. His hair, his little hands, his clothing. And when he tipped his head back, the curtain of white fell back to reveal a porcelain face and wide, intelligent eyes.

"He doesn't walk, so I can only assume that he can't. He won't talk either. The other children pick on him to no end, it's too difficult to separate him from them, and he's always getting himself hurt. He'll be safer here with you." Watari sighed, setting down a bag of the boy's belongings, which the child instantly dug into, producing several toys.

I habitually stuck my thumb between my teeth, sharp eyes scanning the boy. "What do they call you, little one?" I questioned softly, hoping to get an answer from him.

All I received for my efforts was an emotionless glance. It was obvious the little toys were more interesting to the albino child.

"We call him Near." Watari sighed, shaking his head sadly. "He's ten, so he knows the rules, can't promise he'll follow them though... Hopefully this will only be temporary, L. Let me know if he becomes a burden to you." He started backing away. "Oh, and don't let him get a hold of anything sharp."

I stroked my chin thoughtfully as I watched the man quickly leave, then glanced back down at the boy called 'Near'. Surely he listened to adult conversation, despite how little attention he appeared to give. Watari seemed completely comfortable talking about the boy right in front of him as though he weren't present, even implying that he would eventually become a burden. Many other children would take offence to this. If Near did, he surely did not show it.

"Very well, Near. Are you hungry?" I asked him the first thing that popped into my mind. I was hungry, so it seemed.

Near didn't so much as glance at me this time.

Sighing, I stood and hunched over, staring down at him for a moment before making my way to the kitchen. It had been a month since Watari had moved back to Winchester. Due to increasing amounts of children who were coming to Whammy's, the staff was overwhelmed and little attention could be paid to special cases where Near was concerned. And so, I had to learn to live on my own because Watari was much-needed at the moment. Watari still checked on me needlessly from time-to-time, of course.

"Near, would you like some tea-" I started, going back to where I had left him. I was startled to find that he had vanished.

"Near? Near where have you gone?" I called, setting down the teacup on the nearest table before searching the room for the boy. He was already a nuisance and he'd only been in my care for less than a minute. Bloody child.

"Damned children." I muttered tonelessly. "Near, please don't play games with me, I'm really not in the mood."

I thought Watari had said the child couldn't walk? Or simply wouldn't unless it suited him, perhaps.

"Near, there you are. Get off my computer, that's not a toy." I had found him in my study, sitting in my chair and tapping away on my computer. Damned child! I rushed forward and snatched him up, finding him to be much lighter than I had expected.

"What have you done!" I cried, staring at the screen in unbridled alarm as it flashed random numbers and letters before shutting off. "Damn it." I set Near down and started frantically typing, but it was too late, the system was on lockdown and I didn't have the time or patience to deal with it now. How the hell had he done that!?

"Near I'm angry with you now-" When I turned, he was gone again. Damn that child!

"Oh for the love of cake, I hate children." I muttered, going out to look for him before he destroyed anything else.

"Near?" I called, eyes roaming room after room as I looked for the nuisance. For a crippled child, he certainly could move fast. As I entered the last room in the apartment – my room – Near's displeasure at being under my care was spelled clearly on the floor, written in all the sweets from my secret stash. He had found them and spelled out 'fuck you' in candy and sweets promptly after smashing them to uneatable mush.

Finally allowing myself to be more than a little frustrated, I stormed into the room, knowing there was nowhere else he could be but the adjoined bathroom. "Near-"

My eyes widened as I stopped in the doorway. Little Near was sitting quietly in the bathtub, his back to me. He had found my razor and was staring at it oddly, running his delicate fingers over the blade and watching curiously as his blood dripped onto the tub floor.

"Near! Be careful with that!" I cried, rushing forward to snatch the harmless, every-day shaver that could potentially be a dangerous weapon to a small child. "What on earth is wrong with you?" Even though I scolded him, my voice naturally died down to its normal droning. I just wasn't used to raising my voice.

I moved back to check on Near, horrified to find that his hands were completely bloodied. There was something severely wrong with this child. It was no wonder Whammy's wanted to dump him on me.

Taking him under the arms, I lifted him from the tub and sat him on the counter next to the sink. After turning on the tap, I wet a somewhat-clean towel and gently wrapped his bleeding hands. "Don't touch my stuff." I growled, glaring him down as he glared defiantly back. Damned child.

"Watari was right. He is a nuisance and a burden." I grumbled to myself, bandaging his hands and picking him up. From now on, it seemed I would be unable to leave him on his own even for even a second, which meant lugging him around everywhere I went. Oh joy. Lucky for him, he wasn't heavy or I would have simply put him on a leash.

**…**

"Near, I have to use the bathroom. I am not taking you in there with me, end of story. But I'm not leaving you out here to destroy my things, so you'll just have to sit here and wait."

Near glared me to hell and back as I tightened the rope around his middle before going into the bathroom, the end of the rope in hand and the door not entirely shut. If he moved, I would know. I couldn't even piss without dreading the trouble the brat would get into if I left him alone. This babysitting thing really sucked.

"Near, no, you can't come in I'm not done yet." I muttered, pushing the door back when he tried to open it. Bloody child was a pervert! I reopened the door after fastening my jeans, glaring at Near as I washed my hands. "You can't even give me peace long enough to relieve myself, can you?"

He glared up at me as I stooped down and picked him up, holding him by his middle under my arm, his legs dangling freely behind me. I knew it couldn't be comfortable, but the damn child wouldn't complain even if his pants caught fire.

He had ways of showing his displeasure though.

Instead of eating his food, he would either strategically arrange it into profane words or else fling it at me as I tried to eat or study.

Whenever I sat down to work I'd either have to hold him in a headlock in my lap or else tie him down to keep him from wandering.

I had learned that taking away his toys as punishment was a bad idea; he did not feel he was too old for biting.

Whenever he twirled locks of his hair, it meant he was plotting: he did this constantly.

I had finally caught him in the act of escaping when my back was turned. As it happened, he simply used his hands to drag the lower half of his body, which furthered my theory that he couldn't walk due perhaps to a congenital misalignment in his spine.

He would. Not. Eat. _Ever._ I tried feeding him healthy-crap, I'd offered him what other's would call 'junk food' I had even searched the internet for kid-friendly foods and asked him if there was anything in particular he wanted, but he simply shook his head. He would. Not. Eat. _Ever._

He liked to read, but it only kept him preoccupied for about ten minutes and he would go back to playing with his noisy toys or otherwise annoying me. He had only been with me a day now and already I found my normally composed temper ready to explode.

"Near, it's time for bed." I muttered tiredly, massaging my temples. Normally, I would never go to bed sooner than midnight, but I couldn't stand it any longer. I needed to get him to bed.

Instead of fighting me all the way to my room, he simply took out a soft toy and allowed me to carry him to my bed. My apartment wasn't too small for him to have his own room, but there was no way in hell was I leaving him alone in the guest bedroom all night. _No way in hell._

"Go to sleep." I told him, dropping him ungraciously onto the bed and stuffing him under the covers. Shoving him over to make room, I turned out the light and plopped down. Sighing, I stared blankly into the darkness. It was three hours sooner than I normally went to bed. I would most-likely be lying awake for quite a while.

Several hours into the night, my eyes were heavy and I was on the verge of sleep when I felt the bed shift. My eyes snapped open and I listened. The brat was trying to escape. Quick as a flash, I sat up and turned on the lamp, staring at a pair of wide grey eyes. It took me a moment to realize he wasn't trying to get off the bed, he was struggling to get back on. Which meant whatever he had done, was already done. Unpreventable damage that was most-likely intended for me to discover in the morning.

"What have you been up to?" I grumbled, un-amused as I rubbed my sore eyes.

He stared at me, still half-way on the bed. The bed wasn't necessarily high, but I figured it wouldn't be easy for him to get in it himself, which in turn made me wonder how he had managed to climb into the tub earlier.

Sighing, I stood and snatched him up easily, preparing myself for what I may find as I left the room. Surprised, I moved on to the kitchen. Nothing seemed to be out of order. That couldn't be right. I briefly turned on my computer to find that the reboot I had done earlier to fix what he had previously done had not been tampered with. I glanced at him suspiciously, but he just stared at my chest, looking neither guilty nor innocent, but surely rather tired.

"Fine then, I'm going back to bed. I better not find anything tomorrow that I missed." I grumbled, going back into my bedroom and crawling back onto the bed. Just to be on the safe side, after turning out the light I made sure that I kept one hand firmly on Near's shoulder, so if he moved… I would know.

**…**

I had gone through my entire morning routine and still hadn't found what Near had been doing the night before. I was suspicious, but everything he'd done previously he had smirked about. This time he genuinely acted as though he had done nothing wrong. It was really starting to piss me off.

"Near you haven't eaten since you got here, please eat!" I nearly begged, sitting in front of the boy and temptingly holding out some food to him. He just sat there, playing with his legos.

I let out an exasperated sigh, setting the plate down in front of him and moving away to clean the dishes. I grumbled heatedly under my breath. Never before had I let anyone get under my skin like this. The kid was a curse. Even when he wasn't misbehaving he had me up the walls worried that he would soon mess something up. The general order of things in my home was slowly becoming a chaotic mess thanks to the little problematic albino.

I suddenly realized I had had my back turned far too long. Dreading that he had made one of his great vanishing acts again, I quickly turned around, surprised to find him nibbling at the food. He hadn't yet noticed me watching him. Even so, he ate very little before he turned his attention to the toy in his hands. I couldn't help but smile lightly. He had finally eaten something.

**…**

"Alright! Enough already, I get it, you're tired." I grumbled at Near as he groaned for the tenth time in the last minute. He lay sprawled at my feet, acting ill, twisting randomly from side-to-side, moaning dramatically. He had started out in my lap, but after an hour of slowly sliding, he had slithered his way to the floor and there he stayed for another half hour, absently swatting at my feet. I hated it when he sat in my lap because I couldn't sit in my usual posture with my knees up, so naturally that was where they went as soon as he left my lap. He seemed to not like this. After he grew bored of pestering me with airy swats, he started moaning needlessly. He sounded like a little dog, whining at his master's feet.

I could have laughed, had I not been so annoyed.

"Come on then." I muttered, fishing him out from under the desk and lifting him up. He instinctively wrapped his arms around my neck to prevent me from putting him under my arm like I liked to do. I glared at him, but he simply stared ahead.

As soon as I sat him down on the bed, he scurried towards the side, trying to slide off. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" I muttered tiredly, moving to intercept him.

He stopped, looking up at me with pleading eyes before pointing towards the bathroom. Grumbling, I snatched him back up and carried him in, plopping him down and making sure there was nothing dangerous he could get his hands on. I promptly exited and closed the door, leaning against it and staring at my watch.

Tick… tick… tick. I was annoyed at the drop of a hat these days. It didn't take long for me to realize that absolutely no sound was coming from the bathroom. I shifted slightly, putting my ear to the door. I heard a perplexed sigh and several small taps on the door. "What?" I muttered in annoyance, opening the door.

He stared up at me, also annoyed.

"What? I'm smart, but I can't read minds, what's the matter?"

He just glared.

"Fine, be that way." I shrugged and started closing the door.

"Wait!"

I stopped, hearing him cry out.

"Yes, Near?" I murmured, staring down at him as he teared up. Tears. Oh bloody hell.

He looked rather embarrassed. "I-I can't get up onto the seat." He whispered, his voice soft and very feminine.

I face-palmed, shaking my head slowly. So he hadn't gone to the bathroom at all since he was here either. And he could talk, he just didn't want to.

Grumbling profanities, I moved into the room and took him under his arms again, lifting him up onto the toilet and quickly making my exit.

After a few moments I heard a thump. He had obviously managed to get down on his own. And flush. I sighed and went back in, lifting him up to let him wash his hands and carrying him back to bed.

"Good night." I muttered, falling face-first onto the bed and switching off the light. Once again, I slept facing him, keeping one hand on his shoulder so he couldn't get up without waking me. For once in my life, I was exhausted.

**AN: So, what do you think? :D Please review!**


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